Asked about the current global financial meltdown, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, answered: “What crisis?”. This was not a dismissive response. It was a fact. Brazil rock-solid stability protected the country against the turmoil. As a Reuters news report has rightly remarked, commodity-rich and with $ 200 billion in foreign reserves Brazil has proved it has done its homework.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of biofuels, including ethanol. But it is not only the high price of commodities which is sustaining the Brazilian economy. The country’s financial system has lower debt, a respectable fiscal policy and a central bank with more autonomy than many others in West Europe. If this wasn’t enough, Brazil became a net creditor this year a direct consequence from amassing more reserves than foreign debt.

Another proof of Brazil’s economical strength came today with a record jobless rates, published by Bloomberg News:

Unemployment in Brazil’s six largest metropolitan areas fell to 7.6 percent last month, down from down from 8.1 percent in July, the national statistics agency said today. The jobless rate was lower than the median forecast of 8 percent in a Bloomberg survey of 19 economists. Brazil’s companies have been adding jobs at a record pace, fueling a surge in income that contributed to second-quarter economic growth of 6.1 percent.